In a number of circumstances, it is desirable to produce large quantities of particulate filled flexible receptacles or bags for distribution or placement as desired. For example, large numbers of sandbags are used each year to protect real and personal property from the harmful and erosive effects of flooding occurring in and around our oceans, lakes, rivers, and other waterways.
Most commonly, sand bags are prepared by manually filling each bag using a shovel or other manual device. Typically, each bag is then manually closed using drawstrings, manual ties, or by twisting or tying the top material of the bag. Examples of manual filling apparatuses for filling bags with sand are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,845,685; 5,802,807; and 5,687,781. Such manual devices are quite slow and labor intensive, typically requiring a large number of workers to produce a relatively modest number of filled sandbags.
It is most often the case, however, that the exigent circumstances precipitated by rising flood waters leave insufficient time to manually produce the number of filled sand bags that will be required to erect the necessary temporary dams or barriers to control or divert the flooding waters. Further complications arise from the reality that, for a given localized community under floodwater conditions, sand bags may be required at a number of different locations. There is a need, therefore, for transportable sand bag filling systems capable of rapidly producing a large quantity of sand bags at a desired emergency site with minimal manual labor requirements.
Semi-automated sand bagging systems which help to reduce the amount of time and labor required to produce filled sand bags are known in the art. Most often, these semi-automated sand bagging systems require one or more operators to manually present and hold or secure the bags, either individually or in groups, in position with respect to some sort of mechanized filling apparatus. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,044,921; 4,184,522; 5,873,396; and 5,806,576.
Other sand bagging systems having somewhat higher degrees of automation have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,260 discloses a sand bag filling apparatus which automatically excavates, forms, fills and discharges sandbags. The sand bags are formed and sealed during the filling process at the point of fill material introduction from bag material which is stored on two continuous roll fed webs. The apparatus disclosed in the '260 patent requires operator directed excavation from a source of fill material and does not disclose provisions for the use of pre-formed sand bags of simple construction.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,665 discloses a sand bagging system which fills bags extracted from a specially prepared cassette. The cassette apparatus generally includes a set of rails which support a plurality of sand bags held on the rails by tabs which are in turn attached to ribbons. The bag cassettes are manually loaded onto the rails of the filling system and the ribbons fed through tensioning rollers. The bags, supported on the rails by the tabs are then withdrawn from the cassette by the ribbons, filled, and then severed from the rails to be sewn shut and discharged from the system.
The cassettes required by the apparatus disclosed in the '665 patent, however, require relatively complex and specially manufactured bags having tabs, ribbons, and rails adding considerable difficulty to the manufacture and storage of the bags and cassettes. Further, since an automatic sand bagging machine may consume over 100,000 bags over the course of a single day of full-time operation, any extra features, hardware, or like complexities which add cost to the bag will result in considerable aggregate expense as great numbers of bags are rapidly consumed. This is especially true as flooding emergencies may require several days of continuous operation.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a sand bag filling apparatus or system that is capable of filling a large number of bags or receptacles in a short amount of time with minimal operator intervention. It would be further desirable to have a sand bag filling apparatus which is capable of running continuously for an extended period of time without operator assistance and which is portable or mobile to allow deployment to a desired location. It would also be desirable to have a sand bag that is of simple construction, allows efficient storage of a large number of pre-manufactured bags, and facilitates automatic loading and filling by a suitably constructed sand bag filling apparatus.